Ian McShane Will Co-Star in the ‘Hellboy’ Reboot

The 'American Gods' star will play Professor Bruttenholm, the demonic superhero's human mentor.

Everyone needs a good father figure. Even monsters. Fortunately, Neil Marshall has found just the right mentor for the demonspawn hero Hellboy: Ian McShane, the celebrated star of Deadwood and American Gods.

Ian McShane has just been cast in Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, a reboot of Guillermo Del Toro’s acclaimed, but not particularly financially successful Hellboy movies. Adapted from the Dark Horse comic books by Mike Mignola, the series tells the story of a demonic superhero who shirks his destiny to destroy the world and winds up saving it multiple times as part of a secret government organization called the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD). The reboot stars David Harbour (Stranger Things) and is expected to receive an R-rating, in contrast with the more family-friendly tone of Guillermo Del Toro’s films.

Ian McShane will play Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (pronounced “Broom”), who finds Hellboy as a child and raises him to be a hero instead of a villain. Professor Bruttenholm was previously played by the late, great John Hurt in Guillermo Del Toro’s first Hellboy movie, and by Kevin Trainor in the film’s prologue.

Mike Mignola

Not much is known about the plot of Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen yet, although audiences can probably expect to revolve around Hellboy, and the rise of some sort of “Blood Queen.” Hollywood Reporter‘s report (from Hollywood) claims that Neil Marshall’s film “sees the hero squaring off against a medieval sorceress who seeks to destroy humankind.”

Although the filmmakers haven’t named names yet, Hellboy has done battle with a “Blood Queen” before, in the animated feature Hellboy: Blood and Iron. That film featured Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed, a notorious serial killer from the turn of the 17th century who tortured and murdered hundreds of young women and allegedly bathed in their blood to keep herself youthful. One of the most infamous historical figures, Elizabeth Báthory has been featured in many feature films, including The Countess, Brothers Grimm and Countess Dracula.

But that, of course, is only speculation. When more news develops about Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, we’ll let you know.

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Top Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Starz

William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on Canceled Too Soon and watch him on the weekly YouTube series What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.